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Battle of the Bringer of Doom
|location = Above the northeastern Deepwoods, near the Edgelands|partof = the great purge of sky piracy|result = Sky pirate victory|combatants1 = Sky pirates|combatants2 = Leagues of Undertown|commander1 = *Council of Captains **Ice Fox|commander2 = *Ruptus Pentephraxis *Imbix Hoth|strength1 = *241 sky ships , Chapter 19: The Clash of the Sky Galleons *Around 2400 sky piratesThe average sky pirate ship had 10 crew members|strength2 = *Unknown number of sky ships *A shryke battle-flock|casualties1 = *At least 16 ships destroyed|casualties2 = *The entire battle-flock *Many ships, including the Bringer of Doom}} The battle of the ''Bringer of Doom'' was fought in 17 between the Leagues of Undertown and the sky pirate armada. It took place above the northeastern Deepwoods, close to both the Edgelands and Twilight Woods. Initially, the sky pirates overpowered the leagues. However, soon after the battle began, the Bringer of Doom approached from behind the leagues' line, destroying several sky pirate ships and causing the rest of the armada to abandon their ships. Shortly after entering the battle, the Bringer of Doom crashed down to the forest below, as the stormphrax at its core became immeasurably heavy. After the battle had ended, a duel took place aboard the Galerider, where Thaw Daggerslash was killed. Background The great purge of sky piracy The sky pirates had battled the Leagues of Undertown for as long as both factions had existed. Occasionally, the leagues would attempt to purge the sky pirates entirely, but every time this happened, the sky pirates would retreat to their stronghold at Wilderness Lair, and would wait there until they judged it safe to return to civilisation. In 17 , High Leaguesmaster Ruptus Pentephraxis began what he called the 'great purge of sky piracy', intended to snuff out the sky pirates once and for all. Construction of the Bringer of Doom Unlike pirate ships, league ships were not built for battle. They were slow and sluggish, designed for hauling large shipments of cargo. In order to combat this, the largest single flight-rock ship ever was commissioned: the Bringer of Doom. It was to be faster and stronger than any ship to come before it. For its size, the Bringer of Doom was constructed incredibly quickly, so as to keep it a secret. A mature rock had its flight delayed in order to grow large enough to fit the gigantic vessel, and the hull was built entirely from bloodoak timber. The burning of the taverns The purge began with the burning of many taverns which acted as sanctuaries for sky pirates. The Sallowdrop inn, the Hammelhorn tavern, the Fromp, the Sky's Rest and the Tarry Vine tavern were all burnt to the ground in a coordinated act of arson. All the sky pirates in Undertown fled to Wilderness Lair, where they prepared to settle in for a long wait. Preparation for battle After delivering its shipment of bloodoak timber to Thelvis Hollrig's sky-shipyard, the Galerider was the last ship to leave Undertown for Wilderness Lair. Its captain, Cloud Wolf, brought with him the news that the leagues planned to battle the sky pirates. After hearing this news, the sky pirates prepared to meet the leagues in battle the next day. Battle Approach The sky pirate armada left from Wilderness Lair at sunrise, and sailed south in a giant arrowhead formation. There were 120 ships on each wing, with the Maelstrom Seeker at the tip. The fastest ships travelled at the point of the arrow, with the heavier ones positioned towards with wingtips. The leagues fleet were travelling in a straight line, and turned to face the sky pirates when the two forces caught sight of each other. As the sky pirates approached, the league ships formed a defensive wall. Each ship turned 90°, so that they were positioned in a line, prow-to-stern. This wall gave the leagues' crews a good chance to shoot at the incoming ships. As the two sides came within shooting distance of each other, they began to fire missiles. Javelins, harpoons, sumpwood-charcoal grenades, molten ironwood sap and spiked lufwood logs were all fired by the combatants. Initial clash After this brief exchange of projectiles, the tip of the sky pirate arrowhead crashed into the leagues' defensive wall. Just before each ship impacted, the pirate captain pulled up on the flight levers and the stone pilot doused the flight-rock, causing the ship to angle upwards, and enabling the keel blade to damage the league ship. The sky pirates lost at least 11 ships during this initial attack. Once the tip of the arrowhead had broken through the leagues' line, the heavier sky pirate ships moved in to deal with the scattered league ships. It was during this assault that the league ships surrendered, sending up signals of white smoke. , manned by a battle-flock of pedigree black shrykes]] Arrival of the ''Bringer of Doom Both sides regrouped after the surrender of the leagues fleet. It was while the sky pirates were assembling that the Bringer of Doom arrived. It was faster, and far stronger, than any of the sky pirate ships, and showed this power by effortlessly destroying the Fogscythe and Thundercrusher, the heaviest ships of the armada. The pirates, knowing it was pointless to try and fight, attempted to flee. Those ships which attempted to retreat were chased down and crushed. After witnessing the destruction of the Stormrunner and Driftcleaver, the entire fleet began to abandon their ships. and Cloud Wolf gliding from the Galerider on their parawings]] Then, without warning, the Bringer of Doom suddenly dropped out of the sky. The stormphrax at the core of the flight-rock had been kept dimly lit by a piece of decaying glow-worm skin, keeping it from becoming immeasurably heavy. It was during the battle, after all the sky pirates had deserted, that the final piece of glowing skin crumbled to dust, plunging the stormphrax into darkness. This is what caused the ship to fall to the forest below. The remaining league ships fled back to Undertown after witnessing the destruction of the Bringer of Doom. The sky pirates in the tree canopy then began to retrieve their abandoned ships using sky ferries. References Category:First Age of Flight Category:Events Category:Battles and Wars